


love, like rain

by splendidlyimperfect



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Accents, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crushes, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, Relationship Negotiation, Sting and Rogue have accents and Gray and Natsu can't handle it, Tumblr: FTLGBTales, and they're so gay for each other, they're all such awkward flirts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2020-01-05 02:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18356540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splendidlyimperfect/pseuds/splendidlyimperfect
Summary: When Natsu's morning commute gets interrupted by a cute guy helping a turtle cross the road, Natsu thinks it'll just be a funny story to tell later. But then Sting shows up at Natsu's café, with his cute accent and sweet smile, and Natsu starts to fall in love a bit. Which wouldn't be a problem, except that Natsu already loves Gray. Then Natsu introduces them, and Gray starts falling too.Sting's always been easily infatuated - with the cute air steward, the scuba instructor, the pretty guy at the grocery store - but he's never loved anyone other than Rogue. So when Sting meets Natsu and Gray and starts to feel like maybe this time, the infatuation is more than just a crush, he's not sure what to do, even when Rogue feels the same way.





	1. meet cute

**Author's Note:**

> This all came about from a story lastoneleft found about a cute guy helping a turtle cross the road and kind of exploded from there as an alternate version of the gratsustingue relationship. I'm having lots of fun writing this! 
> 
> I'm getting all the info on South Africa and all the Afrikaans from my work wife who is from Cape Town and has literally the cutest accent I've ever heard. 
> 
> Title is from a South African proveb: "Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls."
> 
> Find me on tumblr as [@splendidlyimperfect](https://splendidlyimperfect.tumblr.com/) or check out the OT4 blog at [@gratsustingue-the-ot4](https://gratsustingue-the-ot4.tumblr.com/)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu runs into an unexpected cute stranger on his morning commute.

“Something’s holding up traffic, I’m probably gonna be late for work.”

Natsu yawned, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel of the car and peeking out the window as he talked to Gray over the Bluetooth. Hythe Street wasn’t usually backed up this early in the morning, but they were at a standstill right now, and horns were starting to blare around him.

“What’s going on?” Gray’s voice was quiet, and Natsu could barely hear him over the sounds of traffic.

“I have no id--”

“Get the fuck off the road!” someone shouted. Natsu frowned, seeing the man in the car in front of him press on his horn as he yelled. “Some of us have places to be!”

“Jesus,” Natsu grumbled, leaning curiously out the window. “Chill, dude.”

“Is there an accident?” Gray asked.

"Don’t think so,” Natsu said. There was an SUV turned sideways across both lanes – now that he was paying attention, Natsu could see that oncoming traffic was blocked too. There were no sirens, though, and nobody appeared to be hurt.

“Hurry the fuck up!” Angry guy was shouting again, and Natsu leaned further out the window. He could just see a head of blond hair moving toward the SUV, and as the figure got closer, Natsu realized it was a guy about his age. He was moving awkwardly in a crouch, steadfastly ignoring the shouts and blaring horns.

 _Shit, he’s cute,_ Natsu thought, taking in the man’s dark tan and bright pink shirt. As he leaned further out the window, Natsu suddenly realized that the man was helping a turtle cross the street. He wasn’t touching it, just guiding it through the traffic, and Natsu nearly cried at the sight.

“Is everything okay?” Gray asked.

“Gods, yeah,” Natsu said quietly, watching the turtle. “I think I’m in love.”

 

* * *

 

Natsu ended up being nearly half an hour late for work, but when he’d told Lucy about the turtle, she’d nearly teared up and had immediately forgiven him for having to open on her own. Now it was lunchtime, and Natsu was sitting at one of the tables in the café, flipping through his phone.

“You’re the asshole that held up traffic this morning!”

Natsu looked up from his coffee to see the guy from the truck standing near the door of the café, gesturing angrily.

“I’m sorry if you were late for something,” said a voice with a soft, unfamiliar accent. Natsu leaned back in his chair and was pleasantly surprised to see the turtle guy. He was even cuter up close – soft blond hair, eyebrow piercing, pink shirt with _Magnolia Zoo_ written across the front and a tiger cub underneath.

“I was late for a meeting!” the angry guy insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was just a damn turtle.”

“Tortoise,” the blond man corrected with a smile. “It’s a common mistake. And gopher tortoises are actually an endangered keystone species, they--”

“I don’t give a shit what kinda damn turtle it was,” the other guy growled. Natsu glared at him. “Don’t block off traffic for it, people got places to be.” The man crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.

“I’d be happy to buy you a coffee to make up for--”

Before he could finish, Lucy called out the angry man’s order, and he grabbed it from her, jostling the blond guy and spilling coffee across his shirt.

“Dude,” Natsu said. He was on his feet and halfway across the café before he realized what he was doing. “Don’t be a dick.”

“Excuse me?” The angry man turned around to scowl at Natsu.

“I said, don’t be a dick,” Natsu replied, turning to the blond man, who was dabbing at his shirt with a napkin. ”You okay?”

“Fine,” he said quietly. “It’s all right, I--”

“No, it’s not,” Natsu said, turning back to the truck guy. “You’re being an asshole.”

The truck guy gave Natsu a dirty look, turning back to Lucy and gesturing at her.

“Where’s the manager?” he growled. Lucy snorted, raising her eyebrow at Natsu, who gave the guy a smug grin.

“You’re looking at him.”

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take much convincing for the man to leave, and as soon as the café door was closed, Natsu turned around.

“You okay?” he asked. “Lemme buy you another coffee.” He took the dirty napkins and tossed them in the garbage. “I’m Natsu.”

“Sting,” the man replied, making a face at the coffee stain on his shirt. “And you don’t have to--”

“I want to,” Natsu insisted, already stepping behind the counter. “What do you want?”

A few minutes later they were sitting back at Natsu’s table, coffees in hand and two slices of banana bread on a plate between them. Sting pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking a message before setting it down on the table. Natsu caught a glimpse of his background and his eyes widened.

“Is that real?” he asked, pointing to the phone. Sting nodded, turning the phone to face Natsu. It was a picture of Sting, hand resting on the nose of a full-grown lion.

“That’s Lector,” Sting said, smiling fondly at the picture. “Here, look.” He took the phone back and opened up his photos, then passed it back to Natsu. This photo was of Sting touching foreheads with an enormous white tiger. “That’s Frosch!”

“Holy shit,” Natsu said, glancing up at Sting and then looking back down at the photo. “This is the cutest fucking thing I’ve seen in… ever.”

Sting’s cheeks turned pink under his tan and he looked down at the table, playing with the rim of his coffee cup. “I, uh, work at the zoo,” he said, almost shyly. Natsu couldn’t place his accent – maybe Australian – but it was adorable. “I’m a zoologist, I just got to start working with the big cats a couple years ago.”

Natsu flipped to the next photo, realizing belatedly that he should have asked Sting for permission, and nearly melted at a picture of Sting and a taller man with dark skin and black hair, both petting a lion cub and laughing at each other.

“Your boyfriend?” Natsu asked, wondering why in the hell there was pang in his chest as he asked. He was in love with Gray, so why did it matter that this stranger – who was, admittedly, incredibly cute – had a boyfriend?

“Yeah!” Sting brightened, taking the phone back and smiling. “His name is Rogue, he’s a wildlife photographer. We met at the Panthera Cat Sanctuary – I was doing my residency and he was taking pictures of the cats.”

“That’s… incredibly cool,” Natsu said, looking around the café and then giving Sting a wry smile. “I, uh, own this place. Not nearly as awesome as cuddling lions.”

Sting laughed, playing with the braided leather bracelet around his wrist. “I mean, coffee’s important,” he said, gesturing to the cup in front of him. “I’ve never been here before. We just moved, actually.”

“From where?” Natsu asked.

“South Africa,” Sting replied, giving Natsu a shy smile. That explained the accent. “Little place called Greyton, it’s a couple hours away from Cape Town.”

“That’s quite a change of scenery,” Natsu said.

“Mm.” Sting picked at the banana bread and dug out a chocolate chip, popping it into his mouth. For some reason, Natsu couldn’t help staring at Sting’s fingers as he licked a bit of chocolate from his thumb.

 _Shit,_ Natsu thought. _Gray’s gonna kill me._

 

* * *

 

Gray didn’t kill him. When Natsu got home that evening, he managed to find a picture of Sting on the zoo’s website – one of him sitting in between several lion cubs. The adoring sound Gray had made when he saw the photo had been incredibly gratifying.

Three days later, Sting popped into the café again, just as Natsu was getting ready to the leave for the afternoon.

“Hey!” Natsu motioned for Lucy to give Sting his coffee for free, then leaned against the counter next to Sting as he waited. “How’re the kitties?”

Sting laughed, running a hand through his hair. His shirt today was bright blue with pawprints running up the side and the words _Panthera Sanctuary_ printed underneath.

“Good!” he replied. “Wanna see some more pictures?”

 _Gods, do I ever,_ Natsu thought, leaning over to see Sting’s phone. Sting smelled like mown grass and sunscreen, and he talked excitedly about a new lion cub named Zara, gushing over her paws and pointing out the markings on her forehead.

“… and Frosch is a white tiger, but he and Lector were raised together so they’re best friends,” Sting said as they exited the café and stepped out into the sunshine. “They were bred for the carnival zoo near Cape Town and the sanctuary took them in, so I’ve been with them since they were cubs. They got rehomed to the zoo here so I followed them!”

He stopped suddenly, as if just realizing they were outside.

“Are you… going back to work?” Natsu asked, hoping the answer was _no._ Sting shook his head, glancing down at his watch.

“Nah, Rogue’s working stuff out with the moving company, he’s still up in Scarborough and won’t be back until tomorrow, so I was gonna wander around and get to know the neighborhood.”

“I happen to be an expert in this neighborhood,” Natsu said, grinning and looking around. “Want a guide?”

Sting’s face lit up and Natsu felt a twinge in his stomach. It was the same sensation he’d had the first time he’d gotten Gray to smile, two years ago when they’d met in the first aid office at the ski hill where Gray worked.

The twinge was quickly followed by a wave of guilt and confusion, and Natsu shifted uncomfortably.

“I’d love that,” Sting said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s a lot bigger than Greyton. Only about three thousand people there, not counting the tourists.”

They wandered away from the café towards Commercial Drive, with Natsu pointing out important locations – the grocery store, the donut shop, the board game pub where he and Gray spent Thursday evenings.

After an hour or so, they ended up in the park, standing at the gazebo on the end of the dock. Sting leaned against the railing, staring out at the pond and watching the birds.

“Look,” Sting said quietly, pointing to a turtle that blended into the foliage at the edge of the water.

“Is that the same one from the other day?” Natsu asked, squinting at it. Sting shook his head.

“Nope, that was a tortoise,” he replied. “This is a Blanding’s turtle. Look, you can see the yellow stripe on its chin.”

“You know a lot about animals,” Natsu commented, glancing sideways at Sting.

“Well, I wouldn’t be a very zoologist if I didn’t,” Sting replied. The lilt of his accent was captivating, and Natsu felt the pang of guilt again. He hesitated, feeling his phone in his pocket. After a second, he pulled it out.

_I know this sounds weird, but you mind if I invite cute guy for dinner?_

He sent the text to Gray, an anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t sure this was a good idea – sure, they could be friends, especially since Sting (and Rogue) were new to the area – but the feelings Natsu was getting were… confusing.

 _Sure, I was gonna make pork chops,_ Gray replied. _Wanna pick up some beer on the way home? Love you._

 _Love you too,_ Natsu typed back quickly. He glanced back up at Sting, who was still staring at the turtle with fond fascination.

“Hey, do you uh… wanna come over for dinner?”

 

* * *

 

“Holy shit, he’s adorable.”

Gray’s hand squeezed Natsu’s hip as he whispered in Natsu’s ear. The two of them stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and peering into the living room at Sting. He was sitting on the couch with Happy on his lap, and Happy was purring contentedly.

“Yeah.” Natsu chewed on his lip, then turned to Gray. “I don’t…” He trailed off, sighing in frustration. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s…” Gray took a deep breath. “It’s okay? I get it?” He squeezed Natsu’s hand, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “We can talk about it later, okay?”

“Mm.” Natsu turned and kissed Gray gently, then pulled away and grabbed a beer from the table. “C’mon, let’s go eat.”

The awkwardness that Natsu had felt at first faded away quickly as they ate. Sting asked a million questions about Gray’s work, telling them that he’d only seen snow a handful of times.

“I’ve never been skiing,” he said around a mouthful of salad.

“You should try,” Gray offered. Sting gave him a wide smile, and Natsu could see a pink flush beneath Gray’s dark skin.

After dinner they sat in the living room, feet kicked up on the coffee table, chatting like they’d known each other forever. Sting’s eyes were bright as he talked about Rogue, waving his hands animatedly and showing them some of Rogue’s photography on his phone.

“He’s really great with animals,” Sting said, flipping to a picture of Rogue and the white tiger. “He did a piece on Frocsh and Lector for National Geographic a few years ago.”

“He sounds awesome,” Natsu said softly, wishing the frustrated feeling in his stomach would go away.

They finally called a cab for Sting at nearly midnight after making plans to go out for dinner with him and Rogue the next weekend. As he went to leave, Sting hugged Natsu, then surprised him by kissing his cheek. Sting immediately pulled back, running a hand over his face.

“Shit, sorry,” he said quickly. “You don’t really do that here. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” Natsu said, swallowing heavily. “That’s- it’s fine.” Sting looked uncertain, but repeated the gesture with Gray before waving goodbye and heading down to the cab.

Natsu sighed and looked up at Gray, moving back over to the couch and sitting down heavily. Gray joined him, turning sideways and throwing his legs over Natsu’s. Natsu ran his hand over Gray’s thigh, taking Gray’s hand in his and tracing his palm.

“I… really like him,” Gray said hesitantly, not looking at Natsu.

“Same,” Natsu said quietly. “Is that- that’s weird, right?”

Gray didn’t answer, just pressed his fingertips to Natsu’s, then slid their fingers together.

“I mean, he’s got a boyfriend,” Natsu continued, sighing and tipping his head back onto the couch. “And we’ve got each other, and I love you – you know that, right? It’s not… it doesn’t mean anything bad about us?”

“I know,” Gray said, squeezing Natsu’s hand. “It’s… I get it. It’s weird, but I get it.”

They sat in silence for a bit, and after a while Happy jumped up onto Gray, curling into a ball on his stomach and purring. Gray scratched absently behind his ears, jumping a bit when Natsu’s phone buzzed.

“It’s from Sting,” Natsu said, chewing his lip. _“Thanks again for supper, it was great. Looking forward to next Friday!”_

“Fuck,” Gray said, rubbing his face and looking up at Natsu. “We are so screwed.”


	2. uncertain feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sting and Rogue meet Natsu and Gray for dinner, and after a few drinks, things get flirty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Frosche and Lector are based off this [adorable real-life white tiger/lion couple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8scRVtG1ag) named Cameron and Zabu. 
> 
> Sting's character (and the cubs Lily and Carla) are based a lot off [Giles Clark, a British tiger expert](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01wf0mn) who hand-reared a pair of tiger cubs from the Australian zoo. BBC has a fantastic series on it called "Tigers About the House" which you will not regret watching, I promise. They're adorable!!!

Sting watched the city blur by out the window of the taxi. Downtown Magnolia was noisy and colorful, and every few blocks the pounding of music from a club spilled out into the night, accompanied by people with cigarettes and loud voices.

It was so different than home.

Sting pulled out his phone, swiping to the photo of him and Rogue with baby Lector. Rogue’s soft smile made Sting’s chest tighten, and he hesitated for a second before opening up their text conversation.

 _Hey babe, how’s it going? I miss you._ Sting typed out the message, then deleted it, sighing. He tried again – _Thinking about you, hope everything’s good_ – before deleting it as well and finally replacing it with, _Babe, I’m pretty sure I’m in love, and you’re gonna be too._

Only a few seconds passed before he got a response – _Please don’t tell me you adopted a kitten already._

Sting snorted. _No kitties, promise._

The cab driver pulled up in front of his building and Sting hopped out, passing the driver a handful of what he hoped was the correct amount of cash and then taking the stairs two at a time up to their apartment.

He’d just locked the door behind him when his phone began to ring. Rogue’s name popped up and Sting swiped it to answer.

 _“Hoesit,”_ he said, kicking off his shoes and then heading for the bedroom. He flopped down onto the mattress – they still didn’t have the box spring yet – and yawned.

“Hey, you,” Rogue said softly. “Love you.”

“Mm, love you too,” Sting said, flopping back onto the mattress and sighing. “Bed’s too big without you.”

“Yeah, this hotel sucks,” Rogue said, and Sting could hear him running water in the background. “So, what’s this about falling in love? The cute guy from the café who invited you for dinner?” He could hear the amusement in Rogue’s voice.

Sting sighed, running a hand over his face. “Yeah, I… he’s got a boyfriend.”

“You knew that already, didn’t you?” Rogue asked.

“Yeah, but it turns out his boyfriend is _also_ super hot,” Sting said, voice almost petulant. “And funny, _and_ it turns out his grandparents are from Johannesburg.”

“Oh?” Rogue definitely sounded interested now.

“Hang on,” Sting said, “lemme send you a picture.”

“You took a picture of him?” Rogue asked.

“I… might have told him I wanted a picture of their kitty to show you,” Sting said defensively. He pulled up the most recent picture on his phone – Gray pressing his nose to Happy’s while Natsu looked on fondly in the background.

“Is the cat even _in_ the picture?” Rogue teased. Sting stuck out his tongue, even though Rogue couldn’t see him, then hit _send._

Several seconds later, Rogue said, “oh.”

“Right?”

“He’s… very pretty,” Rogue admitted. “So, on a scale of the scuba guy to the airplane steward last week,” he added, a teasing note in his voice, “how in love are you?”

 

* * *

 

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. Between getting settled in at the zoo, unpacking some of their belongings, filling out a thousand forms for Immigrations, and finding their way around the city, Rogue and Sting were exhausted. By the time Friday came around, they were both eager for a break.

“You look great,” Rogue murmured, coming up behind Sting and kissing his neck. Sting smiled, tipping his head against Rogue’s and staring at their reflection in the mirror.

“I like that shirt,” Sting said, turning around in Rogue’s arms and playing with the collar of Rogue’s dark red dress shirt. “You look very respectable.”

Rogue snorted and kissed Sting’s nose, then leaned back, running his thumbs over the back of Sting’s hands.

“You’re nervous,” Rogue commented, raising an eyebrow. Sting blushed, looking down at their entwined fingers, a pattern of dark and light.

“I dunno why,” Sting admitted, squeezing Rogue’s hands and sighing. “It’s... I dunno, I really want you to like them? Not just cause they’re both cute and funny and—”

“Breathe, love,” Rogue said, bringing his hands to Sting’s hips and pulling him closer. “It’s gonna be fine.”

 

* * *

 

The restaurant that Natsu had picked out was decorated with brightly-colored paper lanterns, and catchy music wafted out onto the patio. Sting easily spotted Natsu’s bright pink hair, and pulled Rogue through the crowd toward where Natsu and Sting were seated.

“Hey!” Natsu said when he saw them, standing up and smiling. “You must be Rogue. I’m Natsu.” He reached out and shook Rogue’s hand, then gestured to Gray. “This is Gray.”

 _“Aangename kennis,”_ Gray said hesitantly, and Sting watched Rogue’s face light up.

 _“Praat jy Afrikaans?”_ Rogue asked, holding onto Gray’s hand for several seconds longer than necessary. Gray shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck and nodding hesitantly.

 _“Ja, ‘n bietjie,”_ he replied, sitting down and gesturing for Rogue and Sting to sit across from them. “My grandparents taught me some.”

“So why don’t _you_ have a cute accent then, babe?” Natsu asked, sticking his tongue out at Gray. Sting felt his cheeks flush when Natsu looked up at him and raised his eyebrows.

“Because I grew up in Canada, moron,” Gray said, smacking Natsu’s head. Natsu made an indignant sound, but didn’t retaliate.

“So,” Natsu said, turning back to Sting and grinning. “If you’re from Africa, why--”

“I swear to god, if you quote ‘Mean Girls’ I’m gonna send you home,” Gray said, kicking Natsu under the table and giving Sting an apologetic look. Sting frowned, but before he could reply, the waiter came to take their drink orders.

Their food came quickly, and Sting’s anxiety disappeared as the four of them began to talk. He’d been worried that Rogue wouldn’t fit into the easy rapport he’d felt with Gray and Natsu the week before, but he'd clearly been anxious for nothing.

“—so he tried the black diamond route,” Gray said, gesturing with his fork at Natsu, _“despite never having skiied before_ , and—”

“Look, in my defense, I was trying to impress a cute guy,” Natsu interrupted. Rogue, who had had several glasses of wine by this point, looked over at Gray and nodded.

“That’s a fair—”

“It wasn’t _me,”_ Gray grumbled, elbowing Natsu and ducking his head in embarrassment. “He was trying to impress the Australian guy at the top of the ski lift.”

“What can I say, I have a thing for accents,” Natsu teased. Sting didn’t miss the look that Natsu shot his way, and he looked away quickly, playing with his food.

“Anyway,” Gray continued, turning back to Rogue. “He broke his foot and three fingers, ended up in the first aid office where I work and was a huge baby about it.”

“It _hurt,”_ Natsu protested. Sting was distracted by the way Natsu’s lip stuck out in a small pout, and then he saw the expression on Gray’s face. Gray was pretending to be exasperated, but when he looked at Natsu, something in his eyes softened.

“Of course it did,” Gray said, reaching over and brushing some stray hairs out of Natsu’s face. “But I kissed it better, remember?”

Natsu grinned, leaning in and kissing the tip of Gray’s nose, and the warmth in Sting’s cheeks matched the embarrassment on Gray’s face. Sting glanced over at Rogue, and was surprised to see a soft, affectionate look in Rogue's eyes as he watched Gray pretend to push Natsu away.

Sting’s fingers found Rogue’s under the table, and Rogue glanced over at him, squeezing his hand as his expression changed from fond to apologetic. Sting shook his head – _don't be sorry._

“So, how are you guys settling in?” Natsu asked, turning his attention to Rogue. Rogue looked startled, eyes wide under the light of the colored lanterns. Sting leaned in, answering for Rogue as Rogue took another sip of wine.

“It’s different,” Sting said, feeling the beers he’d had bubbling up into his brain and making him feel light. Everything was soft and the street lights were casting a silver glow over Natsu’s hair. “There's lots more people.” Sting smiled at Natsu. “We’ve only gotten lost twice though, thanks to you showing me around.”

Natsu’s expression turned almost shy, suddenly, and he ducked his head, looking away. “Anytime,” he said, leaning against Gray’s shoulder. “’s not every day a, uh, pretty guy needs my help.”

Sting’s cheeks flushed darker and he looked down at his plate, willing his heart to stop doing a stupid dance in his chest. _Fuck,_ Natsu was cute when he was flustered. Natsu blinked a few times, clearly realizing what he’d said, then turned to Rogue with his hands raised apologetically.

“Shit, s-sorry, I’m—”

“Sting _is_ pretty,” Rogue agreed, and Sting was fairly certain that Rogue wasn’t looking at Natsu’s eyes as he talked. “You ‘n me have... good taste.” Rogue’s gaze travelled slowly over to Gray, who looked slightly taken aback.

“’s true,” Natsu said, leaning back against Gray and grinning at him. “They’re both pretty.”

“You’re drunk,” Gray said softly, speaking to Natsu but not looking away from Rogue. “You only call me pretty when you’ve had too much to drink.”

“That’s... slander,” Natsu said, frowning at Gray and leaning further back in his chair. “I’m an excellent boyfriend.” Under the table, Sting felt Natsu’s foot brush up against his, and he startled. Natsu moved his gaze slowly from Gray to Sting, taking another slow sip of his beer and then _winking_ at Sting.

Sting nearly choked on his drink, but he didn’t pull away.

“He should say it... more often,” Rogue said slowly, brow furrowing at he looked intently at Gray. Then he swallowed and leaned back in his chair, staring at his wine glass. Sting felt like he should be jealous, but instead he found himself giggling.

“Oh my god, you’re _adorable,”_ Natsu whispered, and Sting was half-convinced that Natsu didn’t realize he’d said the words out loud. Sting stared at Natsu for a second, then looked over at Gray, who was trying to hide a smile behind his wine glass. “Shit, maybe I am drunk,” Natsu said, blinking and looking down at his beer.

Rogue snorted, and then they were all laughing, giving each other tipsy grins and nudging each other under the multicolored lights.

They sat at the table for a long time after their plates were cleared away, drinking and trading stories about their lives.

“So... you basically get to cuddle tiger cubs all day?” Natsu asked, wide-eyed as Gray flipped through pictures on Sting’s phone. The older ones were of Lector and Frosch – both full-grown now – and the newer ones were of a pair of tiger cubs that were almost three months old.

“Well, not _cuddle,_ really...” Sting said, then laughed. “Okay, yeah, Lily and Carla – the cubs – are pretty playful and they do like to snuggle. I’m actually gonna be helping them learn to swim next week.”

“Fuck, I don’t know if I wanna _be you or da—”_

Gray’s statement was cut off by Natsu kicking him in the shin. Sting frowned as Gray glared at Natsu, then sighed and handed Sting’s phone back to him.

“Why don’t you guys come visit the zoo?” Rogue suggested. Gray’s face immediately lit up, and Sting couldn’t help the rush of affection that washed through him.

“Really?” Gray asked.

Sting nodded. “Yeah, if you come on... Tuesday? That’d be perfect. I should be done around five, I can show you around if you want?”

“I think you broke Gray,” Natsu teased, and Sting couldn’t look away from the excited look on Gray’s face. “He’s a huge dork about cats.”

“Shut _up,”_ Gray grumbled, bumping Natsu half-heartedly with his shoulder. “I just... really like cats. They’re great.”

“You are so drunk,” Natsu giggled, kissing Gray’s cheek. Gray hummed, leaning against Natsu and smiling at Sting. Rogue squeezed Sting’s hand under the table again, and Sting willed himself to stop blushing. He was pretty sure it wasn’t working.

“’m just having a good time,” Gray protested, going to take a sip of his beer and pouting when he found it empty.

“You’ve had enough of those,” Natsu said, taking the bottle from Gray and setting it at the other end of the table. “We should...”

He trailed off, looking back over at Sting and Rogue. Sting’s stomach twisted as Natsu’s foot slid up the back of his calf, eyes searching Sting’s face for... something. A few stray hairs had escaped Natsu’s ponytail and were hanging in his eyes, and Sting was already leaning across the table to brush them away when he caught himself and fumbled, patting the table and pretending he’d been reaching for something else.

“We should, uh—we’ve got a lot of stuff to unpack tomorrow,” Sting said quickly. He didn’t want to leave, and he was fairly certain Rogue didn’t either – considering the way he was looking at Natsu and Gray – but Sting felt uncertain, suddenly. Like he was treading a line he wasn’t supposed to cross.

“Yeah, no, we gotta... too,” Gray said, leaning back and looking over at Natsu. 

Sting and Rogue flagged down the first taxi that showed up, and there was an awkward moment where everyone stood near each other, shifting and looking uncertainly at each other. Then Gray stepped forward, pulling Rogue in for a hug and kissing him on the cheek.

 _“Totsiens,”_ he said softly, and Sting watched a small smile cross Rogue’s face as he returned the words and the gesture. Then the tension between them all broke and there were hugs and kisses all around.

“See you on Tuesday,” Sting said, holding Gray’s arm for a minute longer and then forcing himself to let go and wave as they got into the taxi.

Rogue gave the driver their address, then leaned back against his seat, letting out a loud sigh. Sting’s stomach twisted and he rubbed his face, afraid to look at Rogue.

“Hey,” Rogue said gently, taking Sting’s hand and squeezing it. “It’s okay.”

Sting sighed, lacing his fingers with Rogue’s and staring out the window.

“It’s not... just me?” he asked. Rogue laughed, shaking his head and leaning over to wrap his arm around Sting.

“No,” he said, kissing Sting’s hair. “It’s not.”

“I don‘t know... it seems...”

“Wrong?” Rogue asked. Sting nodded, trying to sort through the tangled mess of emotions in his chest. The contented buzz from earlier was fading, quickly turning into a thrumming ball of anxiety.

Rogue pulled Sting closer, running his fingers down Sting’s arm. “It doesn’t feel wrong,” he said softly.

 _It doesn’t,_ Sting thought, staring out the window and watching the lights go by as they headed toward their new home. _But what does that mean for us?_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Afrikaans Translations**  
>  (note: these were all translated for me by my friend from Cape Town, so I hold her responsible for all errors :P )
> 
> Hoesit = Hey/how's it going  
> Aangename kennis = Nice to meet you  
> Praat jy Afrikaans? = You speak Afrikaans?  
> Ja, ‘n bietjie = Yes, a bit  
> Totsiens = Goodbye


	3. freefall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray meets the cats at the zoo, Natsu sees Rogue with a ponytail, they all spend more time together and feelings are confusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me! I know I haven't updated this in a long time, so hopefully it was worth the wait ^-^

Tuesday came faster than Gray expected, but the day itself crawled by. He alternated between looking forward to seeing Sting again and panicking about the bright bubbly sensation in his chest that he hadn’t felt since he’d met Natsu.

 _Breathe,_ Natsu texted him halfway through the day. _I can feel you freaking out from here. He invited you, you’re gonna be fine._

Gray sighed, rubbing his face and trying to take Natsu’s advice.

By the time he got to the zoo, it was only an hour before closing. When Gray told the ticket-taker that he was looking for Sting, she waved him through without paying and pointed him toward the large cat exhibit.

Gray’s shadow stretched out in front of him as he wandered down the well-tended paths. The zoo had changed so much since he was a kid, and even with the directions from the information desk, it took Gray nearly twenty minutes to find the glass-walled enclosure on the other side of the park.

There was a crowd of people around the window – mostly young children that were squealing and jumping up and down – and Gray moved around them curiously until he was able to see what they were all looking at.

At the front of the enclosure was a natural-looking swimming pool, crisscrossed with logs and ropes and surrounded by enormous toys. Sting was waist-deep in the water, holding his arms out to a frightened-looking tiger cub that was pacing back and forth along the bank.

“Carla’s a little more nervous than her brother, so we’re gonna give her a hand.” Sting’s voice came through the speakers and Gray realized he was wearing a headset. “Tigers are one of the big cats that love the water, so once we get her in, she’ll be just fine.”

Gray felt his heart melt as he watched Sting move closer to the cub, making a soft purring sound to soothe her. Carla looked uncertainly at him, dipping one paw into the water and then backing away, shaking it off.

“C’mon, darling,” Sting murmured, making the gentle sound again. “You’re all right.” The gentle lilt of Sting’s accent captivated Gray, and he couldn’t help the soft smile that crossed his face as he watched Sting stroke the tiger cub’s fur.

“Carla needs a bit of encouragement,” Sting said over the headset, turning to look at the kids in the crowd around the enclosure. “I’m gonna give her a little ride and introduce her to the water.”

Carla pawed uncertainly at Sting and he made the purring sound again, nudging her until she clambered up onto his back like a child taking a piggyback ride. Then he slowly moved into the deeper water until Carla’s paws were touching it, making gentle sounds of reassurance.

“There you go,” Sting said, slowly turning around and guiding Carla into the water. “See? Not so bad after all.” Carla’s eyes were wide, but she reluctantly started to kick her back legs while Sting held onto her front paws. “Good girl,” he said softly.

Once Carla was happily swimming with Lily, Sting stepped out of the water and waved to the kids gathered around the glass. The rest of the presentation consisted of facts about tigers, but all Gray could focus on was the way Sting’s wet shirt clung to his chest. It made Gray’s stomach twist in ways that made him think of Natsu, followed by the low, thrumming guilt that had been following him around since Natsu had brought Sting home for dinner.

 

* * *

 

“Come on in!” Sting opened the gate for Gray, squeezing Gray’s arm as he stepped into the enclosure. It was hot and humid, and Gray’s shirt was already sticking to his back. “It’s good to see you,” Sting said, pulling Gray into a hug. The gesture was so comfortable and familiar; like they’d known each other for years instead of days.

“This is amazing,” Gray said as Sting headed toward a small building at the back of the enclosure. The area was filled with tall trees, and on the other side of a glass wall, Gray could just make out a large white tiger settled next to the pool from earlier. “Is that Frosch?”

“Yeah!” Sting looked at Frosch fondly as she flicked her tail back and forth, yawning and basking in the sun. “I’d love for you to meet her – I've known her since she was a cub – but once they get that big, they’re a bit too dangerous for strangers. I still play with them sometimes, but they know who I am.”

Gray sighed wistfully and Sting laughed, nudging his shoulder. “The cubs are a lot smaller though,” Sting said, opening the door of the small building and gesturing for Gray to step inside. He locked it firmly behind them, then asked, “You wanna meet them?”

The lights in the building were dim, and Gray followed Sting down a short hallway that opened into a larger room with glass walls and several ropes and large toys strewn about. The two tiger cubs from earlier were wrestling with each other in the center of the room, nipping at each other’s necks.

“Carla! Lily!” Sting made the same soft purring sound as earlier and both cubs immediately perked up, separating from each other and running toward the gate. “C’mere my loves,” Sting said, reaching out and letting them sniff his hand. “I brought you a friend.”

Gray’s eyes widened as Sting gently took his hand and moved it toward the cubs. The pass of Sting’s thumb across Gray’s palm was electric, and Gray was glad when one of the cubs sniffed him and he could pass his sharp intake of breath off as surprise.

“Good girl,” Sting murmured, letting go of Gray’s hand and stroking one of the cubs behind the ears. Gray immediately missed the contact. “They’ve been hand-raised so they’re pretty used to humans,” Sting explained. “Their mom passed when they were born so the zoo’s been taking care of them. Once they’re big enough, they’ll be integrated back with the others, but they’re only nine weeks old, so they’re basically big kittens.”

“They’re adorable,” Gray said, laughing when one of the cubs headbutted his hand and made a noise that was almost a meow. “Not going to lie, I am insanely jealous of your job.”

Sting laughed, scratching underneath one of the cubs’ chins and running his thumb over her nose. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” he said.

Once the cubs were used to Gray, Sting opened the gate and the two of them sat down on the floor as the cubs climbed on them curiously. Carla ended up in Gray’s lap, making the strange purring sound that Sting had been making earlier.

“It’s called ‘chuffing,’” Sting explained as Lily ran off to grab one of his toys – a knotted rope that he brought back to Sting and tugged at playfully. “If you do it back, it’s like saying hello.”

Gray’s cheeks flushed as he attempted the sound. Carla seemed pleased, pawing at his arm before jumping off his lap and onto Lily. The movement pushed Gray a little closer to Sting so that their knees were touching, and Gray swallowed before relaxing against him.

“Thanks for letting me visit,” Gray said, smiling as he watched the cubs play. “Natsu’s a pain in the ass, but he’s right, I really do love cats.”

Sting laughed, leaning back on his hands but keeping his leg pressed against Gray’s. “You and me both,” he said. “And you can visit any time.”

“Oh,” Gray said, biting his lip to hide the grin that threatened to appear. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

A gentle silence grew between them, interrupted only by the soft growls and playful sounds of Carla and Lily. It reminded Gray of the quiet evenings he and Natsu spent together with Happy, and the confused, guilty sensation started to swell in his chest again.

Luckily, his phone vibrating saved him from the feeling, and he pulled it out to see a text from Natsu.

_Rogue came by the café and he’s got his hair in a fucking ponytail, I’m having a gay crisis. Is it a terrible idea to invite them over again?_

Gray snorted, then looked over at Sting, who was watching the cubs with a soft smile and bright eyes. He sighed, then typed out, _Maybe, but when has that ever stopped you? I’ll make burgers._ He hit ‘send,’ then sighed and added, _Also, Sting has dimples, you’re not the only one having a crisis._

Then he turned to Sting, nudging him with his knee and asking, “You wanna come over for supper?”

 

* * *

 

Dinner together became a regular occurrence. Rogue and Sting started joining them at Thursday trivia nights, and they were welcomed eagerly by Lucy and Erza. Saturday nights were spent showing Rogue and Sting around the city, and Gray started visiting the zoo every Tuesday to spend time with Sting and the cubs.

At first, Natsu felt guilty. He and Gray would spend the time after their get-togethers talking quietly about their mutual attraction to Sting and Rogue and what it meant for the two of them. But neither Sting nor Rogue mentioned it when Gray complimented Rogue’s hair, or when Natsu wrapped an arm around Sting to celebrate a win at trivia night.

In fact, both of them reciprocated. More than once Natsu found Rogue’s foot resting against his under the table at the restaurant, or Sting would lean into Gray while he laughed, tipsy from a few too many glasses of wine. Casual touching quickly became normal, and Natsu found himself looking forward to those soft, gentle moments of intimacy between the four of them.

“Is it starting to feel like home?” Natsu asked after a few weeks. He nudged Rogue, who was sitting next to him at the café. The editing office where Rogue had started working was just around the corner, and he’d taken to visiting Natsu for most of his lunch breaks.

“It’s getting there,” Rogue said, taking a sip of his coffee. “I like it. People stare at us less.” Natsu frowned in confusion. “I’m black, Sting’s white,” Rogue elaborated. “And we’re gay. We lived in a small town, people were conservative... apartheid wasn’t really that long ago. Most people were nice, but sometimes it sucked. My parents haven’t talked to me since Sting and I started dating.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Natsu played with the rim of his coffee cup. “I never really thought about that.”

Rogue shrugged. “Sting’s worth it.” The smile that crept across his face made Natsu’s stomach do something complicated that he didn’t quite understand. “What about your family?” Rogue asked.

“Gray’s parents are great,” Natsu said, shifting his feet and resting them on the edge of Rogue’s chair. “His dad works in business and is always texting me asking how to say stuff in Japanese to impress his clients.” Rogue laughed. “My parents took a while to come around – mostly ‘cause Gray’s a guy, not ‘cause he’s black. But they’re fine with it now.”

They spent the rest of Rogue’s lunch hour together, and Natsu couldn’t stop thinking about how easy it was to talk to him. At one point, Rogue shifted his foot on the stool and his calf brushed up against Natsu’s. Neither of them mentioned it, but neither of them moved away, either. 

When Rogue finally left, kissing Natsu’s cheek and heading up to his office, Natsu could feel Lucy’s curious eyes watching the interaction. He stared at the door for a long time after Rogue left, taking deep breaths and desperately trying to understand the feelings he couldn’t control.

 

* * *

 

“You’re telling me you’ve never seen ‘Star Wars?’”

Natsu sat on the couch at Sting and Rogue’s place, gesturing at both of them with his empty glass and giving them an incredulous look. It was nearly two months after their move, and Sting had insisted on Natsu and Gray coming to their place for dinner this time, even though they still didn’t have a kitchen table.

Sting laughed, nudging Rogue with his shoulder.

“Nope,” he said. “We’re probably the only people on the planet who haven’t, at this point.” He grabbed another slice of pizza from the box on the table, then settled back onto the couch, kicking his feet up over the armrest.

“We’re gonna have to fix that, right, babe?” Natsu said, looking down at Gray, who was sitting on the floor next to the couch. Gray tipped his head back and hummed in agreement. “You guys have Netflix?” Sting nodded, gesturing to the remote on the coffee table. “You wanna watch the first one right now?”

“You’re lucky he’s only asking about the first one,” Gray said, rolling his eyes. “When we met, he was so affronted that I hadn’t seen it that we had to watch the original trilogy in one sitting.”

“You liked it,” Natsu grumbled, flicking Gray’s ear.  

“To be fair,” Gray said, laughing as he ducked out the way, “I didn’t really pay much attention to the second two. We were a bit preoccupied.”

Natsu was about to argue when he noticed the pink blush that had spread across Sting’s cheeks. An affectionate feeling bubbled in Natsu’s chest at the sight and he bit back a sigh, running his fingers through Gray’s hair instead.

“Shush, you,” he grumbled, nudging Gray toward the remote. “Maybe this time you’ll pay attention.”

 

* * *

 

Halfway through the movie, Natsu realized his mistake. Sting, who had been previously curled up against Rogue, yawned and stretched, and when he settled back onto the couch, his shoulder pressed up against Natsu’s. The touch sent a thrill through Natsu, and he held his breath, trying his best not to move.

“They’re gonna end up together, aren’t they?” Sting asked, tipping his head toward Natsu as he gestured to Han and Leia on the screen. His voice was low and soft, and it sent a tight, hot feeling straight to Natsu’s stomach.

“Can’t tell you that, ‘s a spoiler,” Natsu replied, holding in a sharp breath when Sting’s hand shifted towards his and their fingers brushed. “They, uh…” He trailed off, torn between leaning away from Sting and moving closer.

Sting made the decision for him when he moved again, and this time his hand ended up on Natsu’s knee. Natsu’s heart jumped at the touch, and he peeked guiltily over at Rogue from the corner of his eye. Gray, who was still on the floor, had shifted over, and Natsu realized that he’d tipped his head back against Rogue’s leg. Rogue’s hand hovered not far from Gray’s hair, and Natsu could see his own hesitation mirrored on Rogue’s face.

The uncomfortable sensation that Natsu would have felt if anyone else had wanted to touch Gray never surfaced. Instead, all Natsu could think about was how much Gray would enjoy Rogue’s fingers in his hair, and how much Natsu wanted to hold Sting’s hand.

Natsu swallowed, making up his mind. “Rogue, I think Gray’s got some—something in his hair.”

Rogue blinked, looking over Sting’s head at Natsu and then back down at Gray’s hair that definitely had nothing in it. “Here?” he asked quietly, fingers brushing uncertainly through the hair behind Gray’s ear.

Natsu watched as Gray tensed for a second, then sighed happily and leaned back into the touch. Rogue was tentative at first, but when Natsu didn’t say anything, he grew a bit bolder, sliding his fingers gently through Gray’s hair.

Sting was watching too, quiet and warm beside Natsu, and Natsu took the opportunity to gently run his finger against the side of Sting’s hand. There was a moment of hesitation, and then Sting slipped his hand into Natsu’s.

A warm, comfortable sense of contentment and rightness settled into Natsu’s chest and he let out a quiet sigh, relaxing against Sting. Out the corner of his eye he watched Rogue’s face light up with a smile as he drew his fingers gently through Gray’s hair.

Sting yawned, shifting again and sliding his fingers between Natsu’s, then tipping his head onto Natsu’s shoulder. Natsu hummed happily, running his thumb along Sting’s as a warm thrill ran through him.

It was exhilarating and terrifying, and Natsu just wished he knew what it meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene with Sting and the cubs swimming is taken directly from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPekEt1Kjg8&list=PL-RA7yuGGuZXnWWk490v-3pGzrkDtlQvw&index=1) episode of "Tigers About the House," I promise you won't regret watching it.


End file.
